


So, I Got Myself A Citrus (Boy) Friend

by robinswift



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cyrus Really Wants To Kiss TJ Okay?, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, First Dates, First Kiss, First Month Together, Fluff, Implied Not-Straight Andi, Interrupted Kiss, Just Let Them Kiss Already, Kira is Not Amused, M/M, Post-Canon, Schmoop, TJ's Basketball Team, The Cheerleaders Love Cyrus, The Muffy and Tyrus Double Date We All Need, double dates, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29162055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinswift/pseuds/robinswift
Summary: It’s good. It’s so good.And it’s easy. Easier than he’d expected. At school, they keep doing what they’ve always done: wait for each other outside of class or near the lockers, have lunch together, hang out during their free periods. Nobody bats an eye when TJ has his arm around Cyrus as they walk the halls. A few students do look twice at them when Cyrus puts his head on TJ’s shoulder at the table in the cafeteria. And, yeah, mostly everyone they pass stares at their clasped hands as they’re walking out of school.“I honestly thought this wouldn’t happen for me until college, at least.”“Well, you were wrong," says Buffy. "Turns out you’re the sweet dorky kid who got the mean basketball team captain falling for him and becoming all soft and mushy,” she laughs. “Congratulations, your life is a romcom.”Or, in which Cyrus and TJ figure out their new relationship and spend the first month of it being disgustingly enamored with each other. And, really, any day now Cyrus will muster up the courage to finally, finally kiss TJ. If "any day now" actually meant "not ever", because how the hell do people even manage to do this anyway?
Relationships: Buffy Driscoll & Cyrus Goodman & Andi Mack, Buffy Driscoll/Marty, Cyrus Goodman/T. J. Kippen
Comments: 27
Kudos: 135





	So, I Got Myself A Citrus (Boy) Friend

**Author's Note:**

> For Tony,  
> my beloved sobbing companion when Tyrus went canon.

“Wanna hang out tomorrow?” asks TJ.

The party is winding down, the music barely a dim background noise, while kids say goodbye to each other and go to their parents’ cars. TJ’s mom texted him a couple minutes ago, letting him know she was outside waiting for him, so they had gotten up from the bench and walked to the front of the house. Yet TJ seems as reluctant to leave as Cyrus is to let him go.

“Of course,” answers Cyrus, his heart still fluttering, his left hand still tingling from having been held by TJ earlier.

“Okay.” TJ’s voice is low and soft. “Cool. I, uh–,” he takes a step closer, and Cyrus’s heart starts violently _pounding_ , “I had a great time.”

“Me too,” he barely manages to reply, his breath hitching. TJ is _so close_ , and Cyrus has no idea what he’s supposed to do. Not even an hour ago, he had felt defeated, convinced that TJ liked Kira, that he had been deluding himself entertaining the idea that his stupid crush might be requited. But then the bench. And Thelonious Jagger. And _Is there anything you wanna tell me?_ And their hands clasped together. And TJ’s breath rushing out like he’d been holding it for days, weeks, and months; his smile – _God, his smile_ – lighting up his eyes like he’d never been happier. Cyrus still isn’t sure this isn’t all just a very vivid dream. TJ is standing so close to him, his pale green eyes staring back at him and his smile never quite leaving his face as he glances down at Cyrus’s lips for a second. Cyrus feels his face burn and his heart hammer in his ears. _Is he–, is he gonna–?_

“Goodnight, Cyrus,” TJ says softly – _how_ is his voice _so soft_ –, and then he walks away.

Cyrus hasn’t figured out how to talk again yet, so he simply watches TJ walk to his mom’s car, his heart still doing backflips inside his chest. TJ looks back before getting inside the car, and smiles at him again. Cyrus feels like he might just melt right there and then.

After the car drives away, he allows himself to cover his face with his hands and silently scream into them as he giddily jumps up and down. A girl walking by gives him a weird look after barely dodging him, and he could not care less. Kiss or no kiss, Cyrus feels like he’s floating an inch above the ground, and he wonders if he’ll ever stop smiling.

(Not for a while, he won’t. Certainly not for the rest of the night).

He’s walking to The Spoon the next day to meet his friends, like they’d planned yesterday, and the new and alien sensation of walking on clouds still hasn’t quite left him; his cheeks are hurting from smiling whenever he thinks about grayish green eyes looking at him and a soft, warm hand holding his. Buffy and Andi are already sitting down at the table when he joins them.

“ _Please,_ ” Andi is begging, “I need _all_ the details.”

“What details?” asks Cyrus sitting down next to Buffy on the booth opposite Andi. He spots Amber serving a table and waves a hand at her. She smiles and waves back.

“Nothing, it’s just–” Buffy begins saying before being interrupted by Andi’s loud “Buffy and Marty! Getting together! Finally!”

“ _What?_ When?”

“Last night at the party!” Andi replies eagerly.

“ _Oh, my God!_ How? Tell me everything!”

“Everything about what?” asks a voice next to them. Jonah has just arrived and is sitting down next to Andi, looking at them expectantly, “What happened?”

“Muffy happened!” Cyrus explains. “Or Barty?”

“Muffy, definitely Muffy,” decides Andi.

“ _Guys_.” Buffy brings her hands to her face in embarrassment. “Stop that. I’ll tell you, okay? Just– keep it down, come on.”

She puts her hands down and takes a deep breath, her cheeks flushed a dark pink and a smile playing at the corner of her lips.

“I just– I told Marty I liked him,” she begins, and Cyrus and Andi gasp, “I thought he didn’t like me anymore, but I still needed to tell him anyway. Turns out, well…” she tries to fight her smile but it appears to be a losing battle, “he actually _did_ like me. Does like me.”

“Of course he likes you!” Andi chimes in excitedly.

“He never stopped liking you!” offers Cyrus.

Buffy has decided to stop trying not to smile, and is now grinning widely. “Yeah… That’s what he said, too. That he’s never changed his mind.” They all coo a unisonous “ _Awww_ ” –even _Jonah_ –, before she adds “And… Um… Then he kissed me.”

Andi _squeals_ at the news while Cyrus cheers and claps and Jonah smiles and says, “Awesome!”

And it _is_ awesome. Cyrus is full of glee and excitement on behalf of his best friend. Marty and Buffy are truly perfect for each other. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Buffy smile like this before, blush so much, be so shy and bashfully _happy_. And yet, at the same time… He can’t help but feel a little jealous. Can’t stop thinking about TJ standing so close to him, leaning into him, only to leave without kissing him. Can’t pretend that it doesn’t sting a bit… that Marty and Buffy can kiss in the middle of a party with ease, without a second thought about the people around them. Cyrus has been so happy since yesterday, so giddy with hope, that he is only now coming to the realization that TJ might have chosen not to kiss him out of shame. Before yesterday, Cyrus didn’t even know TJ liked boys. Although, to be fair, TJ didn’t know Cyrus liked boys, either.

“ _Oh, my God!_ I’m so happy for you, guys!” Andi totally-not-shrieks, unable to sit still. “You are _so_ meant to be!”

Buffy giggles. And, _what_ , is that _Buffy_? _Giggling_?

“Yeah… I just wish I had realized sooner.”

“Nah,” says Jonah. “You weren’t ready then. You’re ready now, so it’s perfect now. The right time is whenever you want it to be.” Three pairs of surprised eyes set on Jonah. “What?” he inquires. Buffy giggling and blushing, and Jonah offering insightful pieces of wisdom. This really just might end up being a coma dream or something.

They order their food, and when Amber brings it over she catches the conversation and sits down to _get all the deets_. She suggests a sports theme for Marty’s and Buffy’s – _Muffy’s_ – future wedding, which she will help Andi organize, _obviously_ , and Cyrus will be maid of honor and Jonah will play the guitar. She gets called back to work and leaves reluctantly, waving apologetically at them. The four of them eat and joke and a whole hour goes by in an instant. Cyrus doesn’t tell them about him and TJ. Not yet. He doesn’t know if he should, if TJ would be okay with that.

Speaking of which–

“Hey, guys,” he says, looking at his phone, “I should get going. See you soon?”

“What? Why do you have to go?” Andi questions him. “It’s super early.”

“Yeah, it’s just, um–” Jeez, he really, really hopes his blush isn’t too obvious. “Yesterday I kinda told TJ I’d hang out with him today. He’s on his way to the arcade.”

“ _Oh?_ ” Buffy smirks mischievously. Her own embarrassment forgotten in the face of this new information. “ _Is he now?_ Just the two of you?”

“Y-yeah? I guess?”

“Hey, maybe we could all go with y–” Jonah begins suggesting before yelping and jumping, as if someone had kicked him under the table. He looks at Andi, offended, while she shakes her head furiously at him.

“No Kira?” Buffy asks Cyrus, ignoring Jonah’s and Andi’s exchange.

“Nope. I don’t think so. I guess they’re not that, um, close… anymore.”

Buffy smirks, a scary glint in her eyes. “Aha. I see.”

“Yeah, I saw her leave the party pretty early yesterday,” Andi observes. “What happened?”

 _I poured water on her and she melted_ , Cyrus remembers TJ telling him, and tries to hide his smile. “They had a disagreement and TJ realized she wasn’t very nice, I think.”

Buffy huffs. “Finally. Took him long enough.”

“Well, like a wise man once said, _The right time is whenever you want it to be_ ,” he replies and it makes Andi and Buffy laugh, while Jonah nods thoughtfully, as if he’s never heard the phrase before. “Bye, guys. Let me know if we’re doing anything tomorrow. Besides continuing with preparations for the Muffy wedding.”

“Yeah, we might have to plan a _double_ wedding after all.” Andi winks at him. He scoffs and leaves before they can see his red cheeks and dopey smile.

He spots TJ waiting for him near the entrance and has a ten-second freak-out about what he’s gonna say, what he’s gonna do –what he’s _allowed_ to say, what he’s _allowed_ to do–, before being face to face with him, but then TJ _smiles_ that _smile_ and he forgets what he was worrying about.

“Hi,” TJ greets him. And, _oh, my God, his eyes are so pretty, how are they even real_.

“Hi,” Cyrus breathes.

“Glad you came.”

Seriously, did he accidentally have _cotton_ for lunch, because what the heck is his stomach _doing_ right now?

Soon he realizes just how pointless his worries about what to say and what to do were. It’s still TJ, and it’s still Cyrus, and they play and talk and laugh, and it’s still the most fun Cyrus has ever had. And if they happen to stand a little closer, touch a little more, look at each other a little longer, well. It doesn’t hurt, either.

It happens when they stop to buy some snacks. The air is light and Cyrus is eating a doughnut and laughing at something TJ said, his chest is warm and silky soft and he’s just _so happy_. TJ looks at him, his own chuckles dying down as he stares at Cyrus’s mouth. Cyrus goes quiet, his eyes widening and his breath catching. And then TJ _leans in_ , and Cyrus forgets to breathe altogether.

TJ brings a hand to Cyrus’s face and swipes his thumb on the side of his mouth. _Why is the room so hot?_ , he thinks, _Was it always this hot in here?_

“You had some sugar,” TJ explains, and draws his hand back to continue eating his chips.

_Yeah. Okay. Sure. Why not._

Cyrus forces himself to breathe normally and pretends he’s not disappointed. His mind is flooding with questions that he’s not sure he should ask right now. That he wishes he didn’t _have_ to ask.

They’re walking side by side after leaving the arcade. The air is chilly but the warmth doesn’t seem to be leaving Cyrus’s chest anytime soon. Their hands brush and he can’t help the rush he feels at remembering the bench. He wants _so badly_ to hold TJ’s hand while they walk, but he’s terrified at the prospect of TJ being ashamed and rejecting him. So he keeps his hand to himself and silently wishes.

There’s something he really needs to know, though. ‘Cause there’s no way Andi and Buffy won’t get it out of him anyway.

“So, Teej,” he tries, and clears his throat of a phantom lump.

“Yeah?”

“I was just wondering–” his voice is a bit wobbly and he really shouldn’t be so nervous about this. He clears his throat yet again and tries for nonchalance, “I was just wondering if it was okay with you if I told my friends about these, um, _recent developments_.”

TJ chuckles and shoves him with his shoulder. “Recent developments. Romantic.” Cyrus smiles at him bashfully. TJ looks relaxed and happy, and it makes Cyrus relax, too. “Of course, Underdog. They’re your friends. I was actually thinking about telling the team, too. If that’s okay with you.”

“What?” He’s shocked. TJ raises an eyebrow at him. “I mean, yeah, yeah, of course. Of course. I’m just surprised, I guess. I didn’t– I didn’t know you were out to them.”

“Oh, I’m not. Well,” TJ chuckles, “I didn’t even know I was _in_ , I guess. I’ve never really been interested in anyone before.” He looks at the floor as they walk, smiling coyly, before adding, “Before you.”

Cyrus is seriously beginning to fear for his health, because in less than twenty four hours his heart has stopped and leaped and pounded more erratically than in all of the P.E. classes he’s taken _combined_. His face is burning hot despite the cold, his skin tingling and his stomach filled with static. Two words and he feels like someone abruptly slid his brightness settings to maximum. _Someone_ being the handsome blushing green-eyed blond walking so close to him he can feel him from shoulder to fingers.

“I mean, I always _thought_ , you know?” TJ continues speaking. “Because I never liked any of the girls who flirted with me or asked me out at school. But I never worried about it. I never liked any boys either, to be fair. Besides celebrity crushes, obviously. And a very weird, _very serious_ , childhood crush on Milo Thatch from _Atlantis_ ,” he laughs, and Cyrus laughs, too. “So, um, yeah. This is all very new to me. I’m not even sure what to call myself, or if I even care about that. I just know that, um,” he’s looking at the floor again, his cheeks colored, “I’m real happy about this, and, well– Yeah, I think I wanna tell my teammates.”

Cyrus is _beaming_. He just feels light and bright and fuzzy all over. The odd feeling of being in a dream coming back stronger. _Although_ , he thinks _, my subconscious isn’t this nice to me._

“Good,” he responds eloquently, and giggles because _why not_ , “good.”

They walk a bit further before Cyrus has his mind clear enough to catch up to something TJ said.

“Wait. Did you say girls flirt with you at school?” he asks, feigning horror. “Oh, no. _How many_ girls are we talking about?”

TJ laughs, getting Cyrus’s joking demeanor and tone, and replies easily, “Oh, _so many_.”

Cyrus stares at him horrified.

“I mean, I _am_ the captain of the basketball team, you know.”

“Oh, my God, I’m dating the captain of the basketball team? Who would’ve _thought_ th–” he catches himself too late, realizing suddenly what he just said, what he just _assumed_ , without having discussed it, talked about it, and, honestly, _what is wrong with him, people can’t just decide that sort of thing on their own and just blurt out–_

“Yeah.” TJ is looking at him intently, smiling warmly, his blush never leaving his face and his eyes sparkling with humor and joy. “Yeah, you are.”

So, anyway, if Cyrus’s heart decides it just will never function normally again, he’s not really to blame, is he?

Cyrus tells his friends the next day, when they meet at Andi’s to eat pizza and watch a movie.

“ _What?!_ ” Buffy hollers, while Andi squeals and jumps up and down. “ _Oh, my God,_ Cyrus! I can’t believe it! Well, I mean, I can _totally_ believe it, ‘cause _duh_ , but _oh, my God!_ ” and then she joins Andi in jumping up and down.

Jonah is still calmly eating his pizza slice, because _priorities_ , but he’s smiling open-mouthedly while he chews –it’s a little disgusting and a lot endearing– and he tells Cyrus, “Dude, that is so _cool._ ”

Cyrus laughs. “Yeah, it’s very cool.”

“What is so cool?” Bex asks, walking into the living room in search for pizza, no doubt. She smiles, her brow furrowing in confusion as she looks at Andi and Buffy, “What happened to them?”

They stop jumping up and down and look sheepishly at each other and then at Cyrus.

“Nothing,” Andi replies hurriedly, before being interrupted by Cyrus.

“It’s fine,” he reassures her, and turns to face Bex. “I’m dating the guy I’ve been crushing on for almost a year, Bex.”

Bex looks surprised for all of two seconds before smiling brightly. “ _Awww_ , I’m so glad, Cyrus! Jonah’s right, that _is_ so cool.” He happily accepts the hug she gives him, and doesn’t even mind the hair ruffling. He’s just in _that_ great of a mood.

He _still_ doesn’t mind when a couple hours later TJ texts him,

 _goodnight cy_ _❤_

and his friends coo at his dopey grin and starry eyes and joke about him being _gone_ on TJ. They’re not wrong, anyway.

Cyrus joins TJ for work at the little kids’ gym a bit over a week later, and they all remember him and get excited to see him again, soon asking him to do a somersault to see if he still can. (He can).

He’s physically exhausted after playing with them for the whole hour, but he’s content enough that he doesn’t mind when he sits on the floor and three kids start trying to sit on top of him at the same time. He manages to settle them all without too much discomfort, and glances around until he spots TJ helping a little girl do her shoelaces. He should be used by now to his heart doing the _flippity-floppity_ against his ribcage, honestly, but he isn’t. TJ apparently feels eyes on him, because he turns around to find Cyrus looking at him. Cyrus knows he’s staring but he doesn’t care. He smiles widely and TJ smiles back. _God, he’s so beautiful._

“Where’s your girlfriend?” asks a little voice next to him. He looks down to see West staring up at him. And after the question, Samantha and Lila stare curiously at him, too.

“What?”

“Where’s your girlfriend? And whass her name?”

“Um–”

“My big brother Nick has a girlfriend and her name is Carrie.”

“O…kay? That’s nice, West.”

“No iss not nice because I want her to be my girlfriend not of Nick.”

Cyrus laughs and West frowns. “Well, how old is your brother?”

“ _Ahmmm_ … he’s big. Like you and like TJ.”

“Okay, and is his girlfriend big like him, too?”

“Yes but she’s pretty and he’s not.”

Cyrus chuckles. “How old are you, West?”

West puts out three fingers, using his other hand to hold down his thumb and index finger. “This many.”

Cyrus tries his best to stop laughing and take West’s issue seriously. “Alright. Well, I’m sorry, buddy, but I think she’s too big for you. And she’s probably happy to be with your brother, right? I bet you’ll have a pretty girlfriend, too, when you’re older. If you still want one then.”

West looks sad but replies anyway, “Okay.” He seems to remember his previous question and lights up with curiosity again. “And where’s your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Can I be your girlfriend?” chimes in Samantha, suddenly very interested in the conversation. She tries to climb him again. “Please, please, please, please, _please_?”

Cyrus chuckles and pats her head, putting her back down again. “I don’t think so, Sammie. You see, I’m big, like Carrie, and you’re little, like West. It can’t be.” When Samantha looks like she’s about to protest, he adds, “And, also, I’ll tell you a little secret,” he lowers his voice and whispers to the three of them, “I already have a boyfriend.” Samantha frowns and tilts her head adorably.

“Oh!” West pipes up again, “My mommy has a boyfriend! He’s not daddy but he’s funny and buys me ice cream and likes my Lego’s.”

“That’s very nice, West,” Cyrus remarks, smiling.

“You can’t have a boyfriend,” Samantha informs him, “because you’re a boy, not a girl.”

Cyrus stops smiling and feels his stomach clench uncomfortably. “Boys can have boyfriends and girls can have girlfriends, Sammie,” he explains to her gently.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah-huh!” suddenly announces Lila, who had been quiet the whole time. “Iss true! I have a mommy and a mama and they are girls! Iss allowed!”

Samantha looks shocked at this revelation, but before she can reply, West asks Cyrus, “And where’s your boyfriend?”

“I’m here.” They all look up to see TJ standing in front of them, smiling and holding a little _Frozen_ backpack.

“You are Cyrus boyfriend?” asks Samantha.

TJ looks him in the eyes, smile growing wider and cheeks flushing a faint pink. “I am.” He thinks he can actually feel his insides turn to jelly and his brain shut down entirely. All he can do is stare up at TJ and hope he doesn’t look like a complete moron with the way he feels himself smiling. West and Lila seem to accept the information without questioning it, but he can see Sam looking between TJ and him out of the corner of his eye. “You’re going home, Lila. Come on.”

“Iss mommy or mama pick me up?”

TJ looks back, peering past the glass wall. “It’s both of them.”

Lila jumps up to her feet excitedly. “Come, Sammie! Come see my two mommies so you see!” She grabs her backpack from TJ’s hand and runs to the door, Samantha jumping up and running behind her.

They’re on their way to The Spoon when TJ gives him a side glance and smiles to himself. Cyrus nudges him and asks, “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just…” he trails off, still smiling. “Boyfriend, huh?”

Cyrus feels his face heat up and looks down at the floor. “Um. Right. Yeah, sorry about that. They were asking and I just thought it was easier to explain that way. I know we didn’t exactly discuss it or anything, so I know I probably shouldn’t have–”

“I like it.”

Cyrus looks up, sees TJ looking at him, smiling bashfully. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” TJ’s voice is so soft and he looks _so gorgeous all the time, dammit, it’s not fair_.

“Boyfriend, then.” They both smile at each other and pretend their hands brush accidentally. He still doesn’t know where TJ stands on that matter. It’s one thing to tell their friends they’re dating, to call themselves _boyfriends_ – _oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, I have a boyfriend?_ – in front of a few three-year-olds, and it’s another thing entirely to go _public_ public. He hasn’t yet been in a position where people look at him and _disapprove_ of his _existence_ , and he can’t really say he’s eager to experience that.

But TJ’s hand brushing against his own as they walk is driving him slowly to madness.

“Teej…” he begins, unsure of how to even phrase the question. Should he just _hold_ TJ’s hand first and ask later if it’s okay? Somehow, the idea of TJ pulling his hand back, rejecting him, wrecks his nerves enough to _not_ do that.

“Hm?”

“So… We’re… boyfriends,” he giggles a bit at the end, still in disbelief that he _gets to call TJ that_.

TJ smiles at him, humor in his eyes. “Yup.”

“So, does that mean we can, um…”

“Yeah?”

“Look, I don’t know. I was just wondering… No big deal if it’s not cool, by the way, just so you know. Like, I get it, you know? Obviously. And it’s fine–”

“Cyrus.”

“Yeah. Alright. Um… What are your thoughts on… hand… stuff?”

TJ stops abruptly and turns to face him, eyes wide and cheeks reddening. “ _What?_ ”

“Oh, _no, no, no_!” Cyrus hurries to correct, “I mean _hand holding,_ jeez.”

“Oh.” TJ relaxes visibly and then chuckles. “Right.” They’re only about half a block away from The Spoon, but they’ve stopped walking and are now looking at each other. “You know, I don’t know if you’ve already forgotten all about Andi’s party, but I can say for sure that I’m pretty _okay_ with hand holding.” TJ is grinning widely, laughter in his eyes only, like he finds this endlessly amusing.

“Yeah, no, I get that. But I meant… um… _public_ hand holding.”

TJ tilts his head a little to the side, still smiling, looking like the world’s tallest and most handsome puppy. ( _What?_ ) He holds his hand out and takes one of Cyrus’s. “Like this?”

Cyrus’s heartbeat quickens suddenly, leaving him in a state not unlike the one he was in after jumping and running and climbing with a bunch of energetic three and four-year-olds. He exhales all his air out in a rush. “ _Yeah_. Yeah. Something like that, yeah.”

TJ’s smile widens, his eyes squinting, and he turns and resumes walking, still holding Cyrus’s hand. “I think I stand in favor of public hand holding.”

Cyrus laughs. His head swimming with incoherent thoughts of _happy_ , _happy_ , _happy_.

They enter The Spoon holding hands and Buffy and Andi look at them and smile brightly, and then look at each other and giggle. Marty smiles at them, too, and Jonah doesn’t even notice anything out of the ordinary.

TJ and Marty prove to be wonderful additions to their little group. They fit in easily, talking and joking like this is the way it’s always been. They even seem to get along with _each other_ , after Marty’s surprise about TJ being friendly subsides. A brief exchange is all it takes to leave any past tension behind.

“Hey, Marty, can you toss me the ketchup?”

“Ah, so you _do_ know my name,” Marty replies lightly, grabbing the ketchup bottle and passing it to TJ.

TJ takes it and looks at him, confused. “‘Course I do. We share like four classes.”

“So you used to pretend not to remember my name just to be a jerk?” There isn’t real heat to Marty’s words, rather genuine curiosity. But everyone is silent anyway, and TJ looks sheepishly down at the table.

“Oh.” He sighs. “Yeah. Pretty much. I’m sorry, man. I thought being a jerk to everyone was a cool personality trait or whatever. It’s not like that anymore.”

Marty smiles at him. “I know, dude. It’s fine. Buffy’s told me all about your _extreme makeover_ ,” he explains and TJ laughs and smiles at Buffy, who smiles back at him. “She even mentioned a rap song apology. Can we hear it?”

“Oh! Yes, please!” Andi is saying at the same time that TJ is shaking his head, going, “Oh, no, no, no.”

“It _was_ the best apology ever rapped, though,” Cyrus says, chuckling. “I’d love to hear it again, if you can remember how it goes.”

TJ looks at him and his eyes go soft, he smiles a tiny smile and says, “Okay.”

“Whipped,” Jonah mutters. Everyone at the table laughs, even TJ, who rolls his eyes and begins rapping.

It’s good. It’s so good.

And it’s _easy._ Easier than he’d expected. They don’t go around announcing it, but they’re not hiding, either. At school, they keep doing what they’ve always done: wait for each other outside of class or near the lockers, have lunch together, hang out during their free periods. Nobody bats an eye when TJ has his arm around Cyrus as they walk the halls. A few students do look twice at them when Cyrus puts his head on TJ’s shoulder at the table in the cafeteria. And, yeah, mostly everyone they pass stares at their clasped hands as they’re walking out of school. Cyrus does feel nervous, but so far people only seem to be looking at them with surprise and curiosity rather than disapproval or contempt. That is, everyone except Kira.

The day is significantly less chilly than the previous ones, so Cyrus and Andi go outside during their free period while she talks animatedly about the awesome courses she’ll be taking at SAVA next school year. He sits on top of one of the outdoor tables and she sits down next to him on the bench attached to it.

There are quite a few students outside, too, clearly taking advantage of the warmer temperature. Not warm enough to take off their sweaters or jackets, but certainly enough to sit comfortably without freezing and enjoy the fresh air. He sees Kira and a couple of TJ’s teammates walking out of the school towards the tables. She glances at him and immediately looks away. He knows they share a class with TJ during this period, so he wonders if they skipped or if the teacher didn’t show up. His answer arrives in the form of TJ and Marty walking through the back door, chatting. TJ spots him and instantly smiles, and Cyrus smiles, too. Soon they join him and Andi at the table.

“Hey. Didn’t you guys have History?” Cyrus asks them as TJ dumps his backpack on the ground.

“We do,” Marty replies, sitting down on the bench opposite Andi, “Plenty of history. We’ve shared a lot of classes for years. One time even got paired together for a project. It was intense.”

Cyrus snorts, Andi scoffs, and TJ rolls his eyes, spreading Cyrus’s legs to sit between them on the bench, his back to Cyrus. “That joke was so bad it might as well be a DC movie.”

Marty gasps and puts his hand over his chest. “You _take that back_.”

TJ laughs and looks at Cyrus. “Mrs. Collins is sick, we got a free period.” He settles more comfortably between Cyrus’s legs, leaning back to rest his arms over them and his head against Cyrus’s chest.

Marty begins explaining to TJ why DC movies are actually _art_ , and he’s _just not properly paying attention to the details_ , but Cyrus is barely listening, too focused on trying to breathe properly with TJ leaning against him. He can’t help but bring his hands up to TJ’s hair and start combing through it. It’s soft even with the hair product TJ uses to style it. Cyrus will suggest that he stop using it and simply let his hair flop whichever way it wants.

TJ sighs and Cyrus notices he has closed his eyes at some point during the impromptu head massage, and is smiling contently. “Hmmm,” he mumbles, eyes closed. Cyrus smiles, too, and continues petting TJ’s hair, his whole body alight from the contact with TJ’s and his stomach doing funny things inside of him. He suspects TJ’s not paying much attention to Marty, either.

He’s proven wrong when TJ suddenly replies, “Well, Wonder Woman is the exception, I’ll give you that,” to something Marty has said to which Cyrus didn’t listen.

“Oh, _totally_ ,” Andi agrees. “It doesn’t hurt that it’s Gal Gadot, either,” she muses dreamily.

Cyrus turns to smile at her while Marty nods and offers a, “Word.”

TJ simply shrugs, eyes still closed. “If you say so.”

“Oh, come on. She’s _gorgeous_ ,” Cyrus tells him matter-of-factly. “Just ‘cause you’re gay doesn’t mean you don’t have _eyes_.”

TJ opens his eyes and looks up at him, still resting against his chest. His expression is odd, and Cyrus stops moving his hands, feeling like he messed up. _Crap_. It’s not like TJ has told him that, it’s not like he’s even decided what to call himself yet. He likes Cyrus and that’s all there is. He might decide to call himself _plenty_ of other things rather than gay –except straight, probably–, it’s not like there’s a lack of options to choose from. He might decide not to call himself _anything_ at all, ever, and that would be just as fine. Cyrus wants to take his comment back, but then TJ snorts and grins lopsidedly up at him.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he says easily, closing his eyes again. “I’m gay and Gal Gadot is still beautiful.”

Andi and Marty laugh, and Cyrus exhales, beaming. He continues running his hands through TJ’s hair and TJ squeezes his knee slightly.

“Woah,” Andi says suddenly. “If looks could kill…”

“What?” Cyrus turns to her, confused. She’s staring ahead at a table further away, in which Kira and the two other guys are sitting down. Kira is looking at them. If “looking” actually translated to _glaring daggers_ at them. Cyrus thinks that if she had something in her hands, she would break it in two. “Oh.”

TJ opens his eyes once more to look up at Cyrus and then leans his head forward to look in the same direction. He spots Kira and scoffs. “She’s gonna pop a vein.”

“What’s up?” inquires Marty.

“See that girl over there?” Andi motions with her head. “That’s Kira.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Marty says. “The infamous Kira. Yeah, Buffy told me about her and the basketball squabble. You used to hang out with her a lot, right, TJ?”

TJ sighs and leans back against Cyrus again, taking his eyes away from the pure hatred coming their way. “Yeah. Wicked Witch of the West. I thought she was being nice to me ‘cause she was friendly. Turns out she was coming onto me and trying to push me away from Cyrus.” Then he smiles mischievously and adds, “I think it’s fair to say she failed pretty spectacularly.”

They all laugh at that, and Marty says, “Dude. She looks like she’s a second away from coming here and slapping you both on the face.”

“Let her try,” Andi mutters threateningly, glaring back at her with menacingly squinted eyes.

TJ snorts and tells her, “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. _But_ , let’s not accept any gift apples any time soon, just in case.”

Cyrus and Marty laugh while Andi continues glaring at Kira, and TJ lets his eyelids shut closed one more time and relaxes. “Wrong witch,” Cyrus tells him softly before leaning down towards him and placing a kiss on his forehead. _Because he can_.

TJ’s cheeks are pink when Cyrus pulls away, and he’s grinning, eyes closed. His hair is messy from having had hands run through it and he looks _stunning_. It makes Cyrus’s stomach clench and flutter and he swears he’ll hide all of TJ’s hair product so he can have messy hair everyday for the rest of forever. Out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus sees Kira stand up from the table and storm off towards the school building, and he tries not to feel slightly satisfied about it. Mostly, he’s just got a soft hum going inside of him that warms him up to his toes.

TJ is in front of his locker one morning, pulling out a book. Cyrus approaches him from behind and puts his hands over TJ’s eyes, making him freeze and chuckle. “Hmmm… Let me guess. Soft hands. Smell of grape sanitizer. Yeah, I’d know them anywhere. My beloved Dr. Metcalf.”

Cyrus laughs and puts his hands down. “Close.”

TJ turns around, his smile making his eyes crinkle. It’s been almost three weeks since Andi’s party and Cyrus’s heart still goes _ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum_ every time TJ smiles at him like _this_.

“Hi.” TJ’s voice is still a bit rough from having woken up not too long ago, and it makes Cyrus weak at the knees.

“Hi.”

Not for the first time, Cyrus is overwhelmed by an impending urge to just _kiss him right here right now_. He stares at TJ’s lips, still curved in a little smile. They look so soft and slightly pink and _perfect_. They seem to daunt him. _Go on, then_ , it looks like they dare him. TJ sucks in a gasp, and his lips part a little. Cyrus realizes the smile has disappeared, and he looks up at TJ’s eyes to find that he’s staring at him intently, his pupils wide and his breath shaky. Cyrus inches a little closer–

The bell rings loudly, startling them both and making them jump apart, as if being caught. TJ turns around quickly and finishes taking his books out of his locker to put them in his backpack, while Cyrus takes a step back and tries to remember how to breathe.

“See you at lunch?” TJ asks, looking nervously at Cyrus and then away, his cheeks tinted a bright pink.

“Yeah. Yeah,” Cyrus breathes out.

They go their separate ways and Cyrus tells his heart to _stop trying to jump out of his chest, dammit_. As for the disappointment he tries –and fails– to push away, well. The crowded hallway was probably not the best scenario for their first kiss, anyway.

“ _Oh, my God_ , we’re going on _double dates_ now?” Cyrus asks Buffy excitedly over the phone after she pitches him the idea of going to the mini golf course with TJ and Marty next Friday after school.

She chuckles. “Hell, yeah. We’ve got boyfriends now, Cyrus. Might as well put them to use.”

Cyrus laughs, full of joy. “ _Holy crap_. We’ve got _boyfriends_ , Buffy. Boyfriends to go on _double dates_ with. _What is life_.” He lets himself flop down on the bed, smiling up at the ceiling. “I honestly thought this wouldn’t happen for me until college, at least.”

“Well, you were _wrong._ Turns out you’re the sweet dorky kid who got the mean basketball team captain falling for him and becoming all soft and _mushy_.” She laughs. “Congratulations, your life is a romcom.”

Cyrus giggles and puts his free arm over his eyes, a little embarrassed and _indescribably happy_. “Too bad I’m getting taller so fast. The required romcom height difference is getting smaller and smaller.”

“Well, silver linings. Easier access to the lips.”

That makes Cyrus’s smile drop, and he gets suddenly quiet. _Right_.

“Cyrus? You okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah, yeah. Why?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s peachy.”

Buffy is a quiet for a few seconds before trying on her serious voice. “Cyrus.”

He sighs. “Okay, fine. It’s not a big deal, okay? But, um…” he tries to come up with a way of saying it without sounding ridiculous. And fails. “It’s just… it’s been three weeks since TJ and I, you know, got together. And we’re _officially_ boyfriends, and _act_ like boyfriends, and everything’s so amazing, you know? _Really_. But, um… we still haven’t, um…” he trails off, not wanting to finish the sentence. But Buffy does it for him, anyway.

“You haven’t kissed.”

“Yeah,” he breathes out. “And I _want to_. All the time, Buffy. And it just never happens. And I don’t know why.”

“Cyrus. Chill. It’s like you said, it’s been three _weeks_ , not three years. It’s still new. You’re nervous and I’m sure he’s nervous, too. It’s fine. I promise you it will happen.”

“Yeah, but _when_? And _how_? I have no idea what I should do. The only person I’ve ever kissed was _Iris_ and you know how _that_ –” Cyrus suddenly freezes. _Oh, my God._

“Cyrus?”

“ _Buffy_ ,” he whines. “What if it’s like it was with Iris? _Oh, my God._ What if it’s _awful_? _What if I hate it?_ What if it’s _so bad_ TJ never wants to kiss me ever again?” He’s decidedly _not_ hyperventilating. 

“Cyrus,” Buffy begins, calmly, and then tries again more firmly when he doesn’t calm down, “ _Cyrus_. _Stop_. Jeez, you’re the dumbest smart person I know. _You’re gay_ , you idiot. _Of course_ you hated kissing Iris. You didn’t like her the way you like TJ. You told me the only thing you thought about was it being over quickly. And just now, you told me you want to kiss TJ _all the time, Buffy_ ,” she mocks his voice, making it sound a lot more high-pitched than it is. “Did you also think about kissing Iris all the time?”

“More like never.”

“Uh-huh. So you think _maybe_ , just _maybe_ , there _might_ be a difference there?”

Cyrus doesn’t respond right away.

“…Maybe,” he concedes, finally. At least he’s relaxed enough to breathe normally.

Okay, fine. So it _won’t_ be like it was with Iris. _It already isn’t_ , he thinks. But that doesn’t solve the main issue, which is: a noticeable lack of lip-to-lip contact in their relationship so far.

“It’ll be fine, Cyrus,” Buffy reassures him, her voice calm. “One of these days you’ll kiss him or he’ll kiss you and it’ll be wonderful. You’ll see. There’s no hurry.”

They end up going on their double date – _oh, my God_ – two days later. It’s Friday so it’s a little bit crowded, the colorful lights turning on as the night begins to fall. Cyrus is, predictably, not very good at mini golf. He stands out like a sore thumb against the three very _athletic_ , very _space-aware_ people with him.

Buffy and Marty make it into a competition, like they always do, and try to outdo each other playfully.

“I wonder what the prize is,” Marty muses after scoring easily. “Hope it’s good.”

“Yeah, have fun holding it for me”, Buffy says before hitting her ball. It goes into the hole with a _plop_.

Marty laughs. “You know, they’re usually not _that_ great anyway. Shall I propose a bet of our own?”

Buffy grins. “You shall.”

“If I win,” he steps a little closer to her while TJ puts his ball down and prepares to hit it, “you have to give me a kiss. And if you win, well, then I guess _I’ll_ have to give you a kiss.”

Buffy blushes and laughs. TJ and Cyrus chuckle, too. _They’re so adorable_ , Cyrus thinks.

“Fine. You got a deal,” she says, smiling widely. “Prepare to lose.”

TJ hits the ball and scores. He says, “It’s gonna get real awkward when I win and you _both_ have to kiss me.”

They all laugh and Cyrus steps on and gets ready to take his turn. To the surprise of exactly no one, he misses, by _far_. “Guess _I’m_ not getting any kisses tonight.”

Buffy and Marty snort and TJ just smiles at him, then looks away. “It’s fine, Underdog. Next level I’ll teach you how to do it.” And then he takes his hand and they all walk to next course.

True to his word, once it’s Cyrus’s turn –after Marty, Buffy and TJ have scored again–, TJ gets behind Cyrus and shifts him into the right position. He places his hands on Cyrus’s arms to show him how to hold the golf stick properly, and Buffy snorts. “Man, these romcom tropes are getting overused,” she jokes light-heartedly. Marty laughs and TJ ignores her in favor of concentrating his attention on getting Cyrus to score. Cyrus smiles at Buffy and then goes back to following TJ’s instructions, all the while trying to not burn all over from having TJ pressed to his back and touching his arms, his breath tickling the back of his neck. _Yeah, good luck focusing on golfing_.

TJ moves Cyrus’s arms, the ball still not in position, to show him the movement. Once Cyrus confirms he’s got it, he lets go and lets him do it on his own. Lamenting the lack of TJ pressing against him, Cyrus wishes he had told him he _didn’t_ get it, and _could you continue showing me how it is, please?_ But TJ puts the ball on the ground and Cyrus hits it how he was taught. Amazingly, it _does_ go into the hole. He shouts in surprise and Marty and Buffy cheer and clap.

“Yeah!” TJ celebrates, “Told you you could it!”

Cyrus is laughing and he throws his arms around TJ’s neck and hugs him excitedly. “I did it!”

TJ laughs with him and hugs him, pulling him up a little bit. “Damn right you did.”

TJ’s breath is hot against his shoulder and neck, his arms tight around his back. Cyrus closes his eyes, smiling, and wonders if it’d be appropriate for them to just stay like this for the rest of the night.

Turns out, it isn’t. Buffy and Marty call for them, already walking towards the next level. Cyrus pulls back and TJ smiles at him widely, eyes sparkling an impossible emerald-opal shade under the many different colored lights around them. _How is he so beautiful_ , he thinks, not quite letting go. Someone clears their throat near them and he turns to see there is a couple with a little kid waiting to use the course. He pulls away, his face on fire. TJ takes his hand and they walk to catch up with Buffy and Marty.

Cyrus doesn’t magically become good at mini golf, but he also doesn’t absolutely suck, either. He scores a few times here and there, but still misses more times than he scores. Buffy ends up winning, Marty and TJ tied in second place. And Cyrus is just happy to have scored _at all_. They give Buffy a prize for scoring in all courses: a mug with a smiling golf ball painted on it.

“Wow,” Buffy deadpans once all four of them are on their way to buy some snacks. “It’s hideous.”

TJ and Cyrus laugh, hand in hand, and Marty snorts and takes the mug from her. “It’s not so bad,” he says, examining it. He gives it back and smirks at her. “And, anyway, I think the other prize will be way better.” He wiggles his eyebrows. Buffy laughs out loud and stops walking, turning to him. Marty stops, too.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

TJ and Cyrus keep walking to give them some privacy, but he still sees Marty step into Buffy’s space and take her face in his hands out of the corner of his eye, sees him getting his head close to hers. Cyrus smiles to himself.

“Never thought she had such a soft side,” TJ whispers to him as they walk. He’s smiling a little, too.

Cyrus chuckles. “You know, most people probably think exactly the same thing about you.” TJ looks at him fondly, and he adds, “Although, I always knew you were a softie deep down.”

TJ laughs sheepishly. “Well, it’s hard not being soft around you. Never got around to being a jerk to you when you looked so cute with your chocolate chocolate-chip muffin.”

Cyrus nudges him, grinning. His face is hot and his heart is racing, and he _really_ should be getting used to this by now. But _how_. “I’m glad Buffy embarrassed me that day and made you do that.”

TJ squeezes his hand. “Me too.”

TJ’s teammates had been accepting of their captain’s sexual orientation and new relationship status. And although Cyrus and TJ hang out more with Cyrus’s friends than with TJ’s, he still gets along with them nicely. Soon they take to treating him like one of their own, laughing with him and jokingly complaining to him that he’s all TJ ever talks about these days. Mostly, they’re just thrilled to see their captain so happy. Some of them stating how relieved they are about TJ not being a jerk anymore. A few guys even go to Cyrus for advice on their personal issues, because, as they tell him, _he’s just such a great listener and gives such amazing advice_. “Perks of being raised by four therapists,” Cyrus explains to them. It comes to a point where he can easily talk to and hang out with some of them at school without TJ even being there.

Not all of them love him, though. There are still a few who are utterly indifferent towards him. And one guy who avoids him as much as possible and scowls at him when he’s in the room. But overall, there’s not nearly as much resistance as he’d expected –there really is no resistance at all, to be honest–, and he finds himself comfortably holding TJ’s hand in front them, being hugged from behind by TJ without shame. The only person that is _decidedly unhappy_ about the recent developments is Kira, whose group of friends consists of a couple of the basketball team guys. Cyrus gets used to the death glares and the storming off, though. Barely registers it anymore.

The cheerleading team _loves_ him. Which surprises Cyrus, given that he’d been led to believe by a certain _someone_ that they were all head over heels for the basketball team captain. The only confirmation he gets about that piece of information is in the form of a light-hearted comment by a pretty brunette called Olivia.

There’s a friendly match –since basketball season is officially over– and everyone’s getting ready. The cheerleaders are going over their performance and TJ comes to Cyrus before leaving to warm up. Buffy, Marty, Jonah, Andi, and Amber are sitting on the bleachers. Even though it’s a friendly match –which doesn’t mean what Cyrus originally thought it meant–, apparently bets have been placed between schools, and Cyrus can tell TJ is nervous, even if he tries _very hard_ not to show it. He squeezes his hand reassuringly.

“You’re gonna do amazing, Teej.”

TJ breathes. “Yeah,” he says unconvincingly.

Cyrus puts his arms around his waist and hugs him close. “You _are_ ,” he says against TJ’s neck. TJ holds him back and relaxes a little. “Because you’re amazing.”

TJ lets out a small and shy laugh. “Thanks.”

Cyrus pulls back without letting go, and looks up at his favorite pair of dazzling gray-green eyes. They’re _so close_ , and it would be _so easy_. _Kiss him, you coward_ , his mind helpfully provides. Cyrus leans in, his face closer to TJ’s, and TJ tightens his grip on his back, breath hitching. Cyrus ends up diverting his path and kisses TJ on the cheek instead. “Good luck,” he whispers, and TJ exhales. When he pulls back again, TJ is smiling.

“Alright. Gotta go win this thing, then. Really don’t wanna have to shave my head.” And he runs up to the rest of the team.

Cyrus freezes. “Wait, _what?_ Hold on–”

“ _Oh, my God_ ,” says a female voice behind him. He turns around to see the cheerleading team nearby, all looking at him adoringly. “That was the _cutest thing_ I’ve ever seen”, the same voice continues. Katie. They all agree with her, nodding enthusiastically. It makes Cyrus chuckle.

And that’s when Olivia declares, “That makes me feel _a lot_ better.” Some of the girls laugh and when he looks at her, confused, she explains, “I was pretty bummed when TJ turned me down last summer.” _Huh_ , he thinks, _turns out he wasn’t lying._ “And then he was hanging out with” she lowers her voice suddenly and whispers in mock-disgust, “ _Kira._ ” The rest of the girls pretend to gag and Cyrus tries, and fails, not to laugh. “I thought, _oh, boy, you got terrible_ _taste_.”

The rest of the girls agree and Penelope chimes in, saying, “We all thought that, girl.”

Then Olivia continues, “But then he started dating _you_ , and I thought, _oh, boy, you got amazing_ _taste after all!_ ”

Cyrus feels his cheeks flush, and he smiles while Penelope states, “And, girl, we all thought that, too!”

“Preach!”

“Deadass.”

“That’s the tea.”

“Amen, sister.”

Cyrus laughs and beams at them. For some reason elated about their approval of him dating TJ. Even if it means being rejected themselves. He makes a silent promise to himself to hang out with them more.

Every time TJ scores he seeks Cyrus on the bleachers with his eyes, smiling brightly while Cyrus cheers louder than anyone else. After Jefferson wins the match –Cyrus has no idea how the scoring works, but he knows the team won because everyone is cheering and celebrating and hugging each other, the cheerleaders chanting and dancing– he runs down to TJ, who runs to him, too. Cyrus throws himself at TJ without care, his arms around TJ’s neck, and TJ laughs as he wobbles a little under the new weight, but holds him up and spins him in circles. TJ is sweaty and Cyrus could not care less. They’re spinning and laughing, and Cyrus knows nothing about basketball but it’s his favorite sport in the whole wide world. When TJ puts him down, Cyrus looks at him and thinks he might fall down from pure bliss alone. They smile widely at each other and Cyrus takes TJ’s face in his hands. His vision seems to be hyper-focused on TJ, and he can’t seem to take in anything else. _This is it, this is it, this is it,_ he thinks giddily as he inches closer–

“Holy crap, Kippen!” Leo shouts as he appears out of nowhere, and Cyrus lets his hands fall back down to his sides, abruptly pulled back to reality. “Are you freaking kidding me? That last shot, man! _Holy crap_! That was _insane!”_ TJ laughs and Leo hugs him, exhilarated. He’s soon followed by other teammates, all cheering TJ on, thanking him for them being able to keep their hair (Cyrus is gonna have a serious talk with TJ about the kind of bets he partakes in). He doesn’t get sports much, but he gets this. This collective, infectious joy. Soon Cyrus is cheering with all of them, and, as he looks at TJ with an expression that he’s sure can only be described as _dreamy_ , he thinks: _later_.

It’s been five days and _later_ has yet to happen.

Andi and Buffy are in Cyrus’s kitchen, helping him bake a batch of blueberry macadamia muffins for TJ.

“I know it’s dumb,” he’s saying. “It’s not like that’s the day we made things official, anyway. _Gee_ , we only _held hands_ _on a bench_ , I mean. But I don’t know… it still feels more important somehow.”

“It’s not dumb,” Buffy protests. “We don’t think it’s dumb, Cyrus. It’s cute. He’ll love it.”

“Yeah, and it _was_ a big deal,” Andi offers. “You didn’t just “hold hands”. You hold hands every day. That’s the day you both knew how the other felt. And the day you both went for it.”

“Totally,” Buffy agrees.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” says Cyrus, cleaning up flour from the table. “But maybe _he_ doesn’t. He probably doesn’t know the date.”

Buffy scoffs. “Yeah, _right_. I’ll bet you _anything_ that he’s got the date marked on his calendar with a bunch of hearts around it. That boy is _gone_ on you, Cyrus.” She starts laughing while adding, “Marty told me he was doodling hearts and C’s on his notebook in History the other day.”

“ _Awwww_ ,” Andi coos and brings both of her hands clasped together to the side of her face. Cyrus’s smile threatens to give him cheek injury.

His cheeks feel hot and he knows he’s beaming, but he still says, “ _No way_. I don’t believe that.”

Andi and Buffy both huff at him, but it’s Andi who says, “ _Please_. What I don’t believe is that he _isn’t_ doing that on every notebook he has and every paper surface he finds. I bet he’s started signing as “Mr. T.J. Goodman” already.”

He rolls his eyes but is still smiling. He might be guilty of some heart doodling now and then, too. And some of the hearts _might_ even have a “TJ” written inside them, who knows.

Buffy says, “I bet if you text him right now asking him to quit basketball and take up knitting, he’ll text you back with a _Sure, baby. Is crochet okay?_ ”

Andi laughs at that, and, okay, _fine_ , maybe he does, too. Only because it’s so ridiculous.

Buffy and Andi keep coming up with more ridiculous love-struck things TJ would _totally, one hundred percent_ do, according to them, while they clean up and wait for the muffins to be ready. Including, but not limited to: having Cyrus’s face tattooed onto his calf, releasing a rap album titled “Cyrus” in which all of the songs are _also_ named “Cyrus”, being hospitalized because of dehydration after Cyrus bakes him a cake made with salt instead of sugar and he eats it all to avoid hurting his feelings, getting into a fight with Netflix management because they took down Cyrus’s favorite documentary on reptiles, and paying to have a “C + T” lasered into the surface of the moon.

(Cyrus doesn’t tell them that TJ did, in fact, message Netflix to complain about them planning to take _Friends_ away, after Cyrus told him he was sad to lose his comfort TV show. It wasn’t a _fight_ , anyway, so it doesn’t count.)

When they take the muffins out of the oven and leave them to cool down, Buffy manages to steal Cyrus’s unblocked phone and texts TJ,

_do u think u can quit basket and do knitting instead?_

To which TJ replies,

_sure. what do u need me to knit??_

Buffy shrieks with glee and shows them the text message, laughing like a crazy person. Andi breaks into a fit of laughter right away, too. And Cyrus assures them, “He’s _joking_!”, but he’s also chuckling happily. His chest is warm, so warm, and he feels like walking to TJ’s house right this minute just to hold him tightly and burrow his face on the side of his neck for the rest of the day.

They walk to the park after school the next day, hand in hand, six muffins safely in a gift box inside a plastic container, inside his backpack. Cyrus is strangely nervous about giving them to TJ, wondering if he should do it _just because_ and avoid any potential awkwardness, or explain it’s the _mensiversary_ of Andi’s party, of the bench. He dreads TJ thinking it’s ridiculous to celebrate that day and not when they made it official, even if rationally he _knows_ TJ would absolutely never put him down like that.

“You wanna go on the swings?” TJ asks him.

Cyrus looks over at the swings and can’t help but feel a little twinge in his stomach at an unpleasant memory.

“Um… Yeah, sure, let’s go.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Cyrus lies.

“Cyrus, you can just say it if you don’t wanna go. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cyrus inhales and tries not to sound pathetic, “We can go, of course. God, it’s _so stupid_. It’s just… The last time I saw you there, you were swinging with Kira, and I just remembered that. That’s all. Told you it was stupid.”

TJ looks confused at first. “What? When d–?” he goes quiet as he seems to remember, going pale.

“It was the day I sent you that picture of the shirt I wanted to give you. You told me you were here, but when I came to find you I saw you on the swings with her.”

“Yes. I remember.” TJ looks so _sad_ Cyrus instantly regrets even bringing it up. “I didn’t know you had come. I’m _so sorry_ , Cyrus.”

“Teej, it’s fine–”

“I was so stupid hanging out with her without realizing what she was like and what she was trying to do,” TJ starts ranting, sounding angrier and angrier. _At himself_ , thinks Cyrus. “I had such a good thing with you and I wasted that hanging out with a person like her.”

“TJ–”

“The worst part is that I _wanted_ to be with you. All the time. That awful costume day? I was miserable the whole day. Being with her, I was always thinking how I’d rather be with you. And I _tried_ , but she wouldn’t leave me alone and you didn’t want to hang out with me while she was there, too. And,” he scoffs at himself, still angry, “I don’t blame you, honestly. That day I didn’t even wanna go on the swings with her. It felt wrong, felt like it was _our_ thing. Yours and mine. But she pushed me, she always pushed me to do things I didn’t wanna do. And I _always ended up doing them_ , because I’m really just _that stupid_.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Cyrus snaps at him, voice firm. “You’re _not_ stupid,” he scolds, ready to fight TJ on this. “Stop saying that. Do you think I’m stupid?”

TJ’s eyes widen in surprise, anger at himself momentarily forgotten. “ _What_? Of course not. You’re the smartest person I know.”

“And why would the smartest person you know be dating a stupid guy?” TJ simply stares at him dumfounded, and Cyrus tries to make the tone of the conversation a bit lighter by adding, “I mean, fine, you _are_ gorgeous. But I can’t date looks alone. I’d get bored pretty fast.”

TJ laughs a little through his nose and stares at the ground, looking chastised. At least he doesn’t look angry anymore. “Well. It hasn’t been that long. You might end up getting bored after all.”

Cyrus scowls at him. “Actually, it _has_ been that long. Sure, we’ve only been dating for a month, but we were friends for a year before that. And, please, _please_ , never tell Buffy and Andi I said this, but for the past year I’ve never been more excited to hang out with anyone than I’d been to hang out with you. The days I knew I would get to see you, whenever we had any plans at all… I was _thrilled_. Even before I realized I had a huge fat crush on you, I just _enjoyed_ your presence. I love talking to you, Teej. And if you think I’m smart, then give me the benefit of deciding that you are, too.”

TJ is staring at him with soft eyes and the shiest smile Cyrus has ever seen on his face. His cheeks are flushed pink and Cyrus steps closer, holding both of his hands in his. “The swing thing was like three months ago, I’m over it. I just had an unpleasant flashback, that’s all. I mean, it _did_ hurt. _A lot_.” TJ looks like he wants to apologize again, but Cyrus continues before he can, “Seeing you with her always hurt because I thought you liked her, thought I didn’t stand a chance. But I was wrong.”

“ _So_ very wrong,” TJ says, smirking.

Cyrus smiles. “Exactly. Because you like me, and I like you, and we’re here now _together_ , no Kira on sight. So it doesn’t hurt anymore.” He pauses for a moment, holding TJ’s hands more tightly. “Let’s go make the swings our thing again, okay?”

TJ cocks his head down a bit, smiling. “ _Okay_.” And he leans in to press his lips to Cyrus’s cheek.

They walk to the swings and sit down. Soon TJ is swinging high and laughing, while Cyrus is content to watch him, while swinging at a _medium_ -to-high level himself. At least he’s not dragging his feet on the dirt anymore to stay low, and he’s got TJ to thank for that. Then TJ begins singing and Cyrus _stops_ swinging, in shock.

“ _Legs go up, legs go down, that’s how we make the swing go ‘round_.”

“You _remember_ the song?” Cyrus asks, awestruck.

TJ laughs happily, slowing down on the swing while he keeps singing, “ _Drag your feet, you go slow. The more you drag, the less you go_. Of course I remember!”

Cyrus is sure he must look like an idiot with his mouth open like that and his eyes wide in astonishment.

“When my uncle and aunt came to visit last summer, we went to a playground one day and I taught my little cousin that song. She _loved_ it. Though I did add a bit of my own to make her confident in swinging higher. _Swing your legs, to go high. Don’t be scared, it’ll be alright._ ”

“ _Awww_ ,” Cyrus coos. He might just cry. Or laugh. Or jump up and run around. _Is this what love feels like_? He manages to stay seated, though. “ _Teej_. That is _so cute_. I can’t believe you _actually_ remember it.”

“‘Course I do. Life changing moment right there.”

Yeah. Cyrus will either pass out, spontaneously combust, or stare at TJ like he single-handedly hung all the stars in the sky, and forget how to speak.

“Though she liked the slide one better. I can’t blame her, it _is_ gold.” TJ chuckles and starts singing once more, “ _We go down, we say yay, we don’t climb up, that’s the wrong way_.”

Cyrus simply stays unmoving, looking at TJ in awe. _It’d been so long ago_. And they didn’t even _know each other_ then _._

“ _Oh, my God_ ”, Cyrus exhales.

TJ turns to him still laughing softly, his eyes sparkling with amusement and happiness. “What?”

“They were _right_ ,” Cyrus muses, unable to tear his eyes away from the mean and scary basketball team captain playing on the swings and singing ridiculous made up kid songs with an adorable lopsided grin on his face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Buffy and Andi said you were gone on me. And, _oh, my God_ , you _are_. You like me _for real, real_.”

TJ laughs open-mouthedly, his eyes squinting almost shut as he throws his head back. Cyrus can only stare and smile like the world’s biggest idiot in love.

“Oh, _no_ ,” TJ manages to say once his laughter dies down a bit. “The secret is out. _I like my boyfriend_.”

His swing has stopped moving, too, so Cyrus pushes him. “ _Shut up_. You know what I _mean_. You don’t _I enjoy your company and wanna hold your hand_ like me. No, no, no. You _I remember the song you were singing before I even knew your name_ like me. That is _hardcore_ liking.”

TJ snickers and pushes him back playfully. “Fine. Then I _hardcore_ like you,” he snorts, but looks at Cyrus dopily. “Buffy and Andi are totally right. I _am_ gone on you.” He stands up and goes to his backpack. “I actually brought you something that proves it further.”

He rummages inside his backpack and pulls out a CD. He walks back to Cyrus and stands in front of him, handing it to him. Scribbled on it, in TJ’s handwriting, are the words _For Cyrus_ , and, under them, the date _03-15_. Cyrus sucks in a breath as his heart starts pounding in his ribcage. _Oh_. _Oh_.

“I made you a mixtape,” TJ begins saying. “ _Well_ , not a _mixtape_ , ‘cause it’s not a _tape_. A playlist, I mean. Well, um,” he’s laughing nervously as he scratches the back of his neck. Cyrus is still silent, watching him intently, his heart trying to beat itself to death. “These are some of my favorite songs. Okay, mostly songs that make me think of you… I’ve started calling them your songs in my head when I listen to them, so, uh, I thought you might like them, too.” He clears his throat and kicks at the ground beside him. “And if you’re wondering what the numbers mean…”

Cyrus tries to breathe as best as he can. The air comes out shaky anyway when he prompts, “ _Yeah_?”

“Maybe you’ll think it’s dumb, I don’t know.” TJ’s face is _red_. “But that’s the day of Andi’s party. The day everything changed between us. Today it’s been exactly one month since then. And I know it’s not the day we _actually_ got together. I know it hasn’t been a month since we decided to be officially boyfriends, but, I don’t know– I don’t know how to explain it. That was just us naming it, but, but, it was really the day on the bench, that was– that it all changed for real. At least for me. Because I finally _knew_. And I was so _happy_. Not that I wasn’t happy when we made it official, _of course I was_ , it’s just– What– What are you–?”

Cyrus has stood up abruptly during TJ’s rant. He might float up into the sky if he’s not careful, he really might. He’s given up all hope of trying to rein in his racing heart, and decides to let it jump out of his chest if it wants. He throws his arms around TJ’s neck and this time nothing stops him. He presses his lips to TJ’s lips, holding his breath.

TJ is frozen in place for a moment, shocked. But then he exhales through his nose and Cyrus can feel him _melting_ in his arms, a soft _hmmm_ coming from his throat. He puts his arms around Cyrus easily, pulling him forward, pressing against him, and kisses back.

 _Oh, my God,_ Cyrus thinks _, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God._ And not much else finds space in his head.

He lets a content humming noise erupt from his lungs. TJ’s lips are as soft as he’d imagined, but it’s so much better, so much better than anything he might have fantasized about. He feels like he’s buzzing. His heart is hammering against his chest, against TJ’s chest, too, surely, they are _that closely_ pressed together. And he’s not sure if he’s breathing, but he doesn’t mind if he passes out, doesn’t intend on pulling back either way. His skin tingles everywhere he’s touching TJ, sparks rushing from his lips, hands, arms, chest and back, and lighting up his spine. He _might_ just combust after all. Fire coils in his belly and spreads up through his veins, making him hot all over. His face burns and his fingertips burn and his chest burns and his _lips_ , _oh, my God_ , his lips are on _TJ’s lips_. They are _kissing_. _Finally_. _Finally. Finally._

It’s perfect. TJ feels against him like he shouldn’t ever be anywhere else. And he can’t believe they haven’t been doing this all day every day for the past month.

TJ pulls away slowly, but doesn’t go very far. Their lips are no longer touching but their breaths are mingling, hot air hitting each other’s faces. Cyrus keeps his eyes closed as TJ leans his forehead against his, shivering slightly and making Cyrus shake with him. They try to catch their breath, still holding each other.

TJ is the first to speak, his voice low when he says, “So, I guess you really liked the CD.”

Cyrus laughs as he opens his eyes, the edges of his vision slightly blurry as he looks into TJ’s already opened ones. They look grayer than usual; the bright sunlight fading out the green. And then he just… keeps laughing. TJ laughs with him, but Cyrus is unhinged, having to close his eyes again and lean against TJ when his knees try to give out. TJ supports him, chuckling, and Cyrus holds onto him and lets his head fall forward, forehead pressing against TJ’s shoulder as he _laughs and laughs and laughs_. He has no idea what he’s laughing about, but that doesn’t seem to matter. He feels downright _insane_. He’s never been drunk, but he’s seen drunk people act like this before, so he guesses that’s what it must feel like.

TJ rubs his hands on Cyrus’s back, calming him down, and starts pressing little kisses to the side of his face. Eventually Cyrus’s near-psychotic laughter dies down, turning into light chuckles that turn into a sigh that turns into silence. He keeps smiling, though, keeps holding TJ.

Once he’s calm and breathing normally, and feels like a human being again, he says, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. That was amazing.”

“I have no idea what that was.” He tilts his head and sighs against TJ’s neck. TJ shivers a little. “What’s the opposite of a panic attack?”

TJ chuckles. “A happy attack?”

“Well, I was attacked by the happy.”

TJ snorts and Cyrus pulls back, looking at his face properly. TJ’s grinning like an idiot – _like the absolute most gorgeous idiot in the world_ – and Cyrus knows he must not be any better himself. His cheeks genuinely hurt. He touches TJ’s face with his hands, and lets him know, “Yeah, I loved your gift. Got you one, too.”

TJ looks surprised at the news and Cyrus steps back, disentangling himself from him and going to find his backpack. He pulls out the container, takes out the gift box and brings it to TJ. He admits, a little ashamed, “Honestly, these pale in comparison to your gift, but–”

“Cyrus,” TJ interrupts him, “there could be a sheet of paper with the multiplication tables inside that box and I’d still be the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Cyrus feels his face burn, but jokes anyway, “Well, dammit. There goes the surprise.”

TJ laughs out loud and takes the box. “I’ll frame it, even,” he says as he opens the lid. He looks inside and _beams_ at Cyrus in awe, as if he had received a ticket for space touring instead of six homemade muffins. He brings the box closer to his face and sniffs them, his smile never fading, and says in the softest voice known to human kind, “My favorite. Thank you, Cyrus.”

“Anytime.” He would have guessed people couldn’t _actually_ burst with affection, but looking at the way TJ’s eyes are sparkling and his smile is lighting up his whole face, Cyrus thinks he might actually be the first. “I know they’ve got nothing on your playlist, but I really wanted to give you something today.”

“So I guess that means you agree with the date being today, right? Unless–?”

“I do,” Cyrus reassures him and brings one hand to TJ’s face again. “Happy mensiversary, TJ.”

TJ smiles even _wider_ and chuckles softly. “Is that the word?” he asks, and when Cyrus nods, he lowers his head and leans closer. “Happy mensiversary, Cyrus,” he whispers, and presses his lips to Cyrus’s once more.

Later, Cyrus tries to refuse the muffin TJ offers him when they sit at a picnic table, but TJ _insists_. Never mind that they’re supposed to be _a_ _gift for you, TJ, they’re yours_. Because _well if they’re mine I can choose to give you one_. And, anyway, _we’re sharing the songs on the playlist, too. They’re our songs so I don’t see why these can’t be our muffins_. Cyrus can’t and doesn’t want to argue with that logic. He ends up accepting the muffin on the condition that they share it, and tries to eat it between giving TJ little pecks on the lips now and then. He’s afraid he really might not be able to go about his days normally anymore, instead needing to kiss TJ every few minutes. TJ doesn’t seem to mind, though. He kisses Cyrus just as many times, and every time he looks like it’s the best thing he’s ever done.

It’s good. _It’s so good_. And, hopefully, it can only keep getting better.


End file.
